Crime & Safety

Manteca Woman Killed in Crash Remembered for Her Contagious Smile and Laugh

Crash was on eastbound I-580 Monday.

The Manteca woman killed in a fatal accident on the Altamont earlier this week was a radiologist at San Ramon Regional Hospital.

 At the time of Monday's crash, Chelsie Encinas, who originally was from San Leandro, was headed home to Manteca to grab a few things. She had planned to return to Livermore, where she often stayed overnight with friends to shorten her work commute.

According to a California Highway Patrol report, compiled by findmyaccident.com, Encinas was driving a 2005 Nissan Altima sedan when the driver of a Dodge Dakota pickup entered traffic from the side of the road, cutting off Encinas.

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According to the report, Encinas took evasive action but the Altima was struck by the truck. She died at the scene.

Two occupants of the pickup truck were injured and taken to a hospital for treatment.

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Her friend Leslie Billings, in an email to Patch, recalled how much fun they had together studying medical assisting at Heald College in Stockton:

"Chelsie will be missed greatly. I can only imagine what her family is going through as I haven't quit crying since I found out on Tuesday, and I only shared a very small part of her life. I will miss her every day for the rest of my life."

"She had the best smile and laugh," said a friend in a private Facebook message to Patch. "Both were contagious. She was an amazing friend and the most adventurous person I knew."

Her friend said she was close to her family and loved her nieces and nephews like they were her own children, a fact that's evident from her public Facebook page, where many sweet pictures of them adorn her photo gallery.

"She's missed terribly," her friend said.


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